October 1st - Almost

This is a day I have been dreading for a long time.

We were warned, early into this residency thing that second year would be the hardest for many reasons. First, because our husbands would be expected to know stuff and do stuff that they had barely learned about. Second, because their work hours would increase significantly. Third, because they would be given more responsibilities - when they still felt "not ready" for those responsibilities. All of which will impact our family lives.

Aaron started second year at the Army hospital in July. Three months of orthopaedic surgery (and only ortho) and he's been thrilled to be actually working within his field. He's met some neat patients and has built relationships with these people. He's gotten to see some really neat cases. He got to come home for "on-call" nights, and only go in when someone needed an ortho surgeon.

Tonight (he's on call the first night!), he heads down to the county hospital downtown. There are fewer docs there, and a multitude of patients. One of my dearest friends said that her husband, while working there, has sometimes been away from home for more than 36 hours at a time - operating most of the time. While he's there, for the next three months, he doesn't get federal holidays off, and he doesn't get to come home while on call. We already know that he's on call for Halloween night. Oy.

So, besides the fact that this next three months is going to be super rough on my dear husband, this is going to rock my world! (It's all about me, after all...) I don't sleep well when Aaron is gone. I am pretty much on my own as far as taking care of our daily chores and the kids. I know that when Aaron finally does come home after working a bajillion hours, he's going to be exhausted and I'm going to need to let him sleep. Even if something is wrong that he could fix.

*deep breath* Here's to independence. And hoping that the next three months fly by...